Baxalta: How Is Its Immunology Portfolio Performing?

Baxalta’s (BXLT) immunology drugs comprise immunoglobulin therapies and biotherapeutics. These drugs earned $2.4 billion in 2015, reflecting an annual growth of 9%.

In the United States, immunoglobulin therapies earned $1.4 billion, whereas revenue from international operations totaled $400 million during fiscal 2015. To meet the rising demand of immunoglobulin therapies, the company is following capacity expansion through ongoing yield improvements and the construction of a new manufacturing site in Covington, Georgia. It has also entered into a contract manufacturing services agreement with Sanquin.

Gammagard liquid competes with products such as CSL Behring’s Privigen, Biotest’s Bivigam, and Octapharma’s Octagam.

In fiscal 2015, biotherapeutics sales stood at $258 million in the United States, whereas international operations earned $426 million. On an actual currency basis, US sales rose 6% while non-US sales jumped by 41% in 2015.

The sale of plasma-based therapies for treating alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, burns and shock, and other chronic and acute blood-related conditions falls under the biotherapeutics category. The class also includes revenue from manufacturing and supply arrangements.

Pfizer (PFE), Merck & Co. (MRK), and Amgen (AMGN) operate in the immunology business. In the next part of this series, We’ll look at how Baxalta’s oncology portfolio is set to grow.

With changing market dynamics, the share prices of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies fluctuate. As a result, it is often risky to directly invest in them. To remain on the safer side, investors could opt for the Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV), which holds 1.0% of its total portfolio in Baxalta stock.